He looked at her. Yeah, the body was 12, but the soul was a 20-year-old guy. So he simply replied, "Age doesn't know the difference between emotions. Pain can affect anyone despite their age. I've heard a lot of people say age is just a number. Pain, anger, grief, hatred, love, joy, happiness, despair can happen to anyone as long as they have the accurate consciousness to remember it. You might kill something an 8-year-old child holds dear, maybe his mother, siblings, father—that despair, anger, hatred will be in the child for as long as he grows, because he already had the ability to think. It will be something that will haunt him. So like I said, age doesn't know the difference about emotions; it happens to everyone."
By now, everyone was looking at him. They could hear the pain in his voice. He shrugged his shoulders. He didn't want to remember certain things, so he turned to Lord Rufus, wanting to tell him they should start going. But he felt hands wrap around his neck.
Feeling the scent, he could tell it was Sarah. She now knew what Aria meant by "you don't know what he has been through." She had been thinking about what Aria said; she realized she had only seen the surface of his pain.
So she said, "I'm glad you are an unawakened. I was worried I would lose you before you were able to grow stronger. But now that I know you're not awakened, I'm glad. Grow stronger, because I will be coming to get you."
She didn't care if anyone was looking at her; she kissed him. After that, she smiled and ran into the inn. He looked in the direction she left, touching his lips, before saying, "Well, that is convenient."
He could feel three gazes on him: first was Aria's, then Julia's, then even Aurora's. He didn't know what happened. He shrugged his shoulders before turning to Lord Rufus and saying, "Can we go now?"
Lord Rufus smiled before saying to himself, "This will surely be interesting."
Lucian had already given the twins the instructions he wanted to give, so he just followed Lord Rufus and his family to the carriage waiting for them.
The journey to the capital would take 3 days by carriage. As they left the city behind, Lucian sat quietly by the window, Aurora nestled on his lap. Across from them, Damian just sat there, probably lost in thought, while Lady Rufus observed the blindfolded boy with undisguised curiosity. The others were in the other carriage they brought along with them, so only Damian, his grandfather, his mother, Aurora, and Lucian occupied this one.
"Young Marcellus," she said after they had been traveling for an hour. "I must admit, I'm still processing the fact that you—a child of twelve—led my son and others through the Whispering Forest."
Lucian turned his face toward her voice. "Age is merely a number, Lady Rufus. Necessity is often the greatest teacher."
"And what necessities have you faced?" she asked, her tone softening. "To speak and carry yourself as you do?"
Before he could answer, Aurora interrupted with childish enthusiasm. "Daddy is the smartest! He reads all the time and remembers everything!"
Lucian placed a hand on Aurora's head, silently thanking her for the convenient diversion. "My tutors were quite demanding," he said simply.
Lord Rufus, who had been silent until now, chuckled softly. "Indeed. Your... education... seems to have been most thorough."
The way he emphasized "education" made it clear he suspected there was more to Lucian's abilities than mere tutoring, but he didn't press further. Instead, he changed the subject.
Lucian noticed this but still clarified something. "Lord Rufus, you know I won't be following you to the capital, right?"
Lord Rufus raised an eyebrow. "Why not?"
"Well, for starters, my family doesn't have a townhouse in the capital. We are still a baron family, so halfway through the journey, at our next stop, I will take my leave from there."
Lord Rufus nodded thoughtfully before turning to his grandson. "The capital has changed since you were last there, Damian. The Emperor has implemented several new policies regarding awakened training. The Academy has nearly doubled its enrollment."
Damian looked up, interested despite himself. "Really? Why the sudden expansion?"
"Tensions with the Elven Domain," Lord Rufus replied. "And rumors of unrest in the Northern Provinces. The Empire needs more awakened warriors."
Lucian's ears perked up at this. "Has there been open conflict?"
"Not yet," Lord Rufus said, studying Lucian's reaction. "But preparations are being made. The Merchant Council is pushing for aggressive expansion into elven territories. They claim the rare herbs and minerals there could advance our alchemical research by decades."
"And the Emperor agrees?" Lucian asked.
"The Emperor... listens to those who fund his armies," Lord Rufus said carefully. "The Merchant Council's gold speaks very loudly these days."
Lady Rufus shot her father-in-law a warning glance. "Perhaps we shouldn't discuss politics so openly, Father."
Lord Rufus smiled. "Of course, my dear. Though I doubt young Lucian here would betray our confidence. He understands the value of discretion, don't you, boy?"
Lady Rufus shot her father-in-law a warning glance. "Perhaps we shouldn't discuss politics so openly, Father."
Lord Rufus smiled. "Of course, my dear. Though I doubt young Lucian here would betray our confidence. He understands the value of discretion, don't you, boy?"
"I do," Lucian replied, inclining his head without much expression on his face. "Though I find it interesting that tensions rise with the elves just as experiments on noble children—and half-elven twins—come to light. A coincidence, surely."
The carriage fell silent. Damian looked between his grandfather and Lucian with wide eyes. Aurora pretended to be fascinated by a butterfly outside the window, though her eyes gleamed with interest.
"A sharp observation," Lord Rufus finally said. "One might almost think you had been educated in court intrigue rather than a baron's household."
Lucian looked at him for a while before saying without much expression on his face, "I listen. I observe. I connect pieces that others might miss."
"A dangerous habit," Lady Rufus murmured.
"Only for those with something to hide," Lucian countered smoothly.
Lord Rufus laughed suddenly, a genuine sound of delight. "By the ancient powers, boy! You have more spine than most courtiers three times your age. I think I got the missing puzzle on why my grandson began to follow you."
Damian looked down, embarrassed but not denying the statement.
"I merely spoke the truth," Lucian said.
"Truth is the rarest commodity at court," Lord Rufus replied. "Guard it carefully."
Lucian studied the Rufus family and thought to himself, 'It's quite nice presenting people with what they want to see.'
The journey continued, and they stopped for the night at a well-appointed inn that clearly catered to nobility. As servants unloaded their luggage, Lucian felt someone approach from behind.
"Are you really going to the Academy?" Julia asked quietly, coming to stand beside him.
He looked at her before replying with a simple, "Yes."
She hesitated. "I'm... confused. You speak of investments and long-term plans, yet you're about to undergo awakening. You must know that it's dangerous. Some don't survive it."
He looked at her before saying, "All paths carry risk. But some risks are necessary."
"And if you don't survive?" she pressed. "What happens to your... investments then?"
He turned to her, his blindfolded gaze somehow still penetrating before saying coolly, "Then they'll have to find their own way. As will you, Julia Atticus."
She was silent for a moment. "You're not what you seem, are you?"
He looked at her, wondering why she was saying all this, but still answered her. "Few people are," he replied. "Especially among the nobility."
She didn't respond to that directly. Instead, she said, "My father will meet us in the capital. He has connections that might help us learn more about the laboratory."
He stared at her before saying, "I'm not going to the capital with you."
"What?!" she shouted. "Then where will you go?"
He didn't reply; he just kept staring at her. Seeing he wasn't going to answer, she bit her lips before asking, "And after? After you awaken and enter the Academy? What then?"
"Then we continue our search for answers," he said. "And for those responsible."
After saying that, he left her while she just stared at him, holding her chest like she wanted to say something but couldn't. After a while, she also turned back and left.
Later that night, after dinner had been served and most had retired to their rooms, Lucian sat by the window of his chamber, listening to the sounds of the inn settling for the night. Aurora was curled up asleep on the bed, her childlike snores a perfect imitation of innocence.
A soft knock came at his door.
"Enter," he called quietly.